Sharing data in a communication network is an important application. It enables a plurality of client processing units to have access to data located on a remote server processing unit. With Wide Area Networks (WAN), such as the Internet, the remote server processing unit may be located thousands of miles away from the client processing units.
Unfortunately, serious security threats usually accompany the remote locating of data in a client/server architecture. Hackers take this opportunity to try to access data shared if no precautions are taken to ensure data security.
In order to ensure data security, authentication and encryption schemes have been developed. Such authentication/encryption schemes are usually based on cryptographic science. It may then be more and more difficult to have access to data shared between a client unit and a server unit. However, it will be appreciated by someone skilled in the art that it may be possible for a hacker to locate one of the plurality of client units or the corporate server by discovering and using its address in a Wide Area Network.
Meanwhile, it is well appreciated that Wide Area Networks have contributed to the development of numerous applications where data is shared between two parties with a third party supervising the two parties. At least one of the two parties may pay for the third party's supervising a fixed fee or a flexible fee for instance.
Unfortunately it may be very difficult for the third party to avoid that the two parties share data directly between them and thus the third party lose control of the sharing of data between the two parties.
There is a need for a method and apparatus which will overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks.